Category Archives: Snack

The veggie of the month is…. [drumroll please, and pretend you didn’t already see the post title]..

…Cauliflower!

Giving it a shot. First thing I found that looked good was this recipe for cauliflower/aged cheddar/mustard fritters. Now, I did forget the mustard, which I only realized post-frying. Too bad (though it would have been extra delicious). These were good anyway.

Just chop up some cauliflower, put some oil, salt, and pepper on it and roast at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or so. Once it cools, you blend it into a puree.

Next step: boil milk and butter, whisk in flour until thick, add eggs one at a time. Fold together this mixture, the cauliflower puree, grated cheddar, and dijon mustard.

Form about 1″ balls of this mixture, roll it in flour and fry in hot vegetable oil.

If you aren’t using a deep fryer (I didn’t), make sure to turn them so all sides are browned.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat cauliflower with olive oil, sprinkle with half the rosemary, season to taste and roast, shaking occasionally, until golden and very tender (40-45 minutes). Set aside to cool, then process in a food processor until smooth.

Meanwhile, bring milk and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then beat until mixture is smooth and comes away from the edges of the pan (mine was verrrrry thick. I was worried, but it ended up being fine). Cool slightly, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition to combine, then set aside to cool. Fold in cheese, mustard, and cauliflower puree and season to taste.

Combine lemon rind, sea salt flakes and remaining rosemary in a bowl and set aside. Heat oil in a frying pan. Roll tablespoons of cauliflower mixture into balls, dust in flour and fry in batches, turning occasionall, until golden and cooked through (3-4 minutes). Drain on paper towel, sprinkle with rosemary salt and serve hot.

Pickled garlic! It’s a THING. I was pretty excited to find it, as a completely unfamiliar food item to me, and once I started digging through recipes I decided a) I wouldn’t make too much, and b) I’d try a couple different versions. Apparently it’s a standard Korean dish, so I decided on that as well as a French recipe. What’s interesting is that the Korean version is intended to be eaten straight out of the jar, while the French recipe suggests that it’s more often used as a future-recipe-prep type thing. It would normally be grated and used in a salad dressing, or mixed in with hummus, for example.

It takes some time, this pickled garlic. I’m on the second stage of the Korean kind, and the French is technically done, though I tried one of the larger cloves today and I’m still breathing fire. I’m curious to know what they’ll both taste like an a couple weeks (better? more mild, I assume?) But here goes:

So, sure you decide to pickle garlic. And then you realize that lots of cloves of garlic is great and delicious and all, but you have to peel it! What! However, dear friend, there is a way.

If you didn’t watch that video, you break the bulbs up, put the cloves in a bowl, place another bowl upside down over the top, and shake the crap out of it.

Goes from that ^ to this:

And depending on the bowls you use, you might not even have to go through as many some-of-them-peeled-so-i’ll-take-them-out rounds as I did. It saves time.

Place saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. boil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic cloves to the saucepan, and allow to boil for 30 seconds. Pour contents of saucepan into a sterilized mason jar, and allow to cool for 45 minutes. When the jar is cool, place the lid on it and store in the fridge.

The garlic will be ready to consume in as little as 2 days, but for the best flavor, allow it to sit in the fridge for about a week before opening. [My note: Larger cloves definitely need much more than 2 days. I left mine in the fridge for about a week and a half, and though the smaller ones were perfect, the bigger ones still have quite a bite.] Stored in the fridge, the french pickled garlic will keep for about a year.

together until the salt is dissolved. Pour over the garlic cloves. The liquid should fully cover the garlic cloves. Let stand at room temperature for 5 – 7 days.

Bring the soy brine ingredients to a boil, and gently boil for 5 minutes over medium heat. Allow to cool completely. Drain the vinegar brine from the jar. Pour the cooled soy brine over the garlic cloves. Make sure all the garlic cloves are fully covered. Close tightly with a lid, and let stand at room temperature for 2 weeks. The garlic can be eaten at this point, but it will taste better as it matures.